Ligit week of Service, and TRANSFERSSSSS!!

May 29 2017

Are those farmers you ask?

our finished product!

when you see the sun for 4 days and do yard work service, you get farmer tan lines like this! 

photo shot (or photo bomb)  with a members plush dog....

 Hello there everyone! I'm going to use a computer this week because its easier to type on one than an ipad. But this week was soo awesome because it was literally sunny all week long, like no joke, not a cloud in the sky for like 4 days and so the sun was out and it was amazing!!!!!! soo good, so we took advantage of it and we sent out a text to all the ward and also all the less actives and investigators that we are working with to try and do some sort of service for them. And in the end we spent the whole week doing service, well okay not the whole week but we spent tons of time doing lawns for people. We joked about putting a sticker on our car that said, "Mormon lawn care" but we didn't. But i will show you some pictures of the aftermath of our week of service. hahaha wearing suits was a pain this week! 

So lots of gardening, and then also we were able to meet a members girlfriend. Her name is T......... and we went over there and taught her about the church and we ended up scheduling her for baptism for late june so that was really awesome! Members are the key to baptisms just so you all know -  if you have friends,  let the missionaries teach them because they going to get baptized! So that was a big miracle for us. 

As well we swapped flats with the sisters because they were having some issues with their next door neighbors, so they sent the "lads" in and we just went over the first day and cut their garden and now they love us - so hey, mending hearts all over the place! So we had to clean our flat, like really clean it because sisters were going in and so yeah that was that! 

But I guess a very important piece of info in this email is what is going to be happening to me the rest of my mission. We had transfers and looks like my mission is now set in stone! ahhhhhh! 

I will be transferred to the capital of the mission. I am going to LEEDS!!!!!! Where I will be training again!! haha that should be really fun! His name is Elder Cai, (tsai) and he is from taiwan! thats companion number 2 from taiwan, so that will be fun to go back to chinese work and be so closer to my mission President. So this is the last area for me! Unless something goes wrong but lets pray that it doesn't. But I am going to miss this area. I am going to miss being with Elder Iakopo he is like the best kid ever! It has been so fun to serve around him but I guess we will have to wait and see what these next 2 transfers hold in store for me. 

But I hope you all have a great week, and enjoy the warmer weather that's coming your way! love you guys!! 

Elder Hanks 

--

Elder Hunter Hanks

Leeds England, Mandarin Chinese

Can you believe it, I'm singing!

May 22 2017

Well just like that we got to the end of another transfer and it's going just way to fast. Luckily I get 18 of them so that makes me a bit luckier than other elders. 
But this week was really good we had two baptisms in the Zone which both went really well, and elder Iakopo and I sang at both of them. I know can you believe it I'm singing at things I have never sung at things before - now I have done it like 6 times.  We also sang a special musical number at church on Sunday for our ward conference. How bout that people?!

Our version of "homemade" ice cream 

But this week we had interviews as well this week which were good. It always fun to be able to see President Turvey. Also I got to hear president Turvey sing and play the piano which was very unique to hear from your mission President but it was so great! He is a good singer and it's no wonder why he loves elder Iakopo so much, because they are both so musically talented.

Let's see we also got a member to take us on a really fun hike it's called Roseberry Toppings. It was a great time and we got some homemade ice cream after wards it was awesome! So it was a really great week for us. We also found 2 new investigators, one is 12 and a really cool kid. And one is a family from Zimbabwe. They are so awesome!

           












But that's all folks! Hope you all have a great week!         
        

Trying to find the sun.... I got close! 

                                                                                                                                                                           

Love Elder Hanks!

Pictures- because we Skyped for Mother's day

                   

Morning exercising 

Sis Browns birthday lunch - all you can eat chinese buffet!

Our baptism this month! 

fastest month of May in my life!

May 8 2017

Elder Iakopo and I decided that this was the fastest week of our missions. It just went by just so fast. But that's because we were so busy doing the lords work which is a good thing to be busy with. This week was full of meetings, exchanges, and meeting people so that was really awesome

On Tuesday we had Zone Conference and it was the greatest thing ever. President talked about the spirit and it was so amazing one thing that I really enjoyed that he said was "a disobedient missionary cannot claim that he has faith because he does not act upon it" so powerful so that gives you a slight glimpse of what Zone Conference was about and the spirit was so strong there.

On Wednesday we were on exchanges with some lads in Middlesbrough and it was great, we even saw some Chinese people in their area and that was fun to speak to them for a bit.

Our investigator T.... is doing really well. She will be getting baptised on Friday which should be really awesome, we taught her the law of chastity, word of wisdom, tithing, and sabbath day holy all in one lesson and she had no issues with any of it, sooo prepared.

M.L.C. On Friday was very exciting. As a council we decided that as a mission we would no longer watch movies. Haha it's going to be a huge shock to lots of missionaries but we discussed about being more consecrated missionaries and felt that was a major stumbling block for the mission.

Then on Sunday we had a cool thing happen. We had tea with the Turvey's on Sunday and that was so good, sister Turvey knows how to cook that's for sure. But after tea with them we helped set up the mission home fireside and then I conducted the fireside and it was such a powerful meeting. It was on the priesthood and the spirit was so strong. How blessed we are in the church to have the authority of god, to perform miracles and ordinances in the gospel. We are so blessed!

I'm just loving this mission life! I can't believe how fast the time is going here!
Love you all so much! Have a great week and I will speak to you fam on Sunday! Happy Mother's Day to all y'all out there!:)
We went to the beach!

         

#AOB - Army of Billingham

May 1 2017

Why hello there fam and others. This week was a pretty good week for the AoB! (Army of Billingham)

We got hailed on a couple of times which was nice - especially when your coats are back at the flat but that's that's all good, lessons learned.

But anyway -  fun stuff that still happened this week.

E. Iakopo

I don't know if I told you his last week but if I did,  I'm not sorry - because it needs to be mentioned again. We play football here every Wednesday and it's the first time ever on my mission I could pull out my cleats and play with English people! It's amazing!

Okay so on Friday we had the baptism of C..... which was so awesome. He investigated for 2 weeks and we taught him 3 times and came to church twice and then got baptized. Quickest baptism ever on my mission! But he is such a cool kid he wants to serve a mission someday!

T...... who is C...... sister,  is sweet! She will be getting baptized on the 12th instead because of some issues and what not! But we are excited for her as well it's going to to be well good. So we are seeing her tonight and teach her as much as we can because we can!  and she is going to be baptized in like 3 weeks so that is awesome!

During the week we decided to take some missionaries out to lunch and we went to this carvery place. Where you get 2 massive plates of a roast dinner and it's amazing! I'll be showing my family that place when we come back, it's called Toby Carvery!

But Billingham is awesome, we have some great members, the missionaries are awesome. This next week is going to be great, we have Zone Conference on Tuesday and MLC on Friday so it's going to be really fun! But in Zone Conference we are putting a focus on Alma 58. Really random chapter but it applies so much to missionary work and I would highly suggest reading it!

Anyways that's it from me y'all!
Love you guys,

Elder Hanks

E Hanks- top row right in the center

Hammin' it up in Billingham!

A few more pictures from my last area York  - Y....'s baptism! 

April 17 2017

haha that title is so good I know!! hahaha 

Hey everyone I hope you guys are having such a great day! It’s almost May, can you believe it? 

This week has been an interesting but good week for me and elder Iakopo. I will be honest at first I was a bit nervous to serve with him, but then it turns out that the kid is hilarious and is just like me and we have been laughing nonstop for this past week, it has just been so good!

Billingham thu is so different from York, because York is like this small historical place that is just fun to look at, and Billingham is the opposite, it’s like a massive industrial place that’s not very fun to look at but the people here are just as nice.  I forgot what it was like to talk to old people but there are loads of them up here! 

E. Iakopo & Ben Walter

We have had a lot of fun things happen this week. The first day I got here we talked to this girl named T..... and her brother right now is an investigator! so we taught her and we scheduled her for baptism and she even went to church in Manchester because she decided to leave, but she still went to church over there so that is soo cool. 

We also have this investigator that just got out of a mental hospital so that’s really cool, we call him chilly willy, because his name is .......... and he is so chill, so hahaha that is always an experience to go and teach him. 

Also Ben Walter came from america to visit! He used to serve here but he came to england to visit and he took us out to dinner at T.G.I. Fridays and it was sooo good to see him again! a long time friend so that was way fun and it was weird to hear about home life! 

We went and taught this less active and well it turns out he has like 30 animals in his house and so the pictures will just tell you what we experienced! hahaha-  there were loads of things in this house, and he said he wanted to show us a video so we watched and it turns out that he wanted to show us star wars! hahah,  so I saw like a minute of the new star wars so, hey that looks super cool, can’t wait to watch it in a couple of months. 

Not sure how I feel about this....

Sunday was very unique! I went to Middlesbrough ward this Sunday to do a chinese interview that didn’t happen so I missed my first week in my own ward which was quite weird so I hope I can get to know the members at one point! 

But then to top off the fun week that we had, we knocked onto this polish guys door who was so cool and he invited us to come to his church and he would come to our church and so we went to his church last night! NO JOKE PEOPLE IT WAS A JESUS CONCERT!!! rock songs and then prayers and it was the weirdest thing that I have ever experienced in my life I have never gone to another church but now I know why. I will send you a video of it, but holy cow we had to really pray after the end of that because their pastor did the whole speaking of tongues, and laying on of hands, and calling out the spirit and it was just something else!! it was weird!!!!!!!!!

The Jehovah Witness church next door 

but yeah that was my week, I will send you all the pictures!!! hahaha you got to love Billingham!

I love it here!! 

Good luck out there everyone!!

Love Elder Hanks

Sorry about so much video of the lady in the white dress but I was trying to be inconspicuous .

Baptisms and transfers!

April 17 2017

Well well well..... here we are once again. Another transfer gone here in the ELM, and I am still loving life this week was so busy and so awesome! We started off the week with a sweet exchange. I went with elder Barff (from Tahiti) and we did loads of finding and it was awesome. We got let in to a dudes house which was sweet, and we met an American named Hunter!,?.? WHAT!???!! It was crazy! Tuesday we finished off the exchanges and had a few meetings and what not!



Wednesday was hectic! So we went to a district Meeting down in Pontefract and from there the day just flew by. We were driving all over the place trying to find baptismal clothes for the baptism  and it was just taking forever! We finally found clothes in Selby and then drove back and had a lesson with A...... and printed programs and got it all sorted. And that night A........ WAS BAPTISED!!! Ahhh it was so awesome and her mom came and supported her and then afterwards she told us that she wanted to learn more about the church as well! Sooo cool!

Y........ wholly molly that girl is so awesome! She is so ready to be baptized and also on Friday she fed us some proper Chinese food just in case one of us left and it was seriously so good! I'll attach some pictures but it was amazing! Y...... is so awesome! I'm so happy that she will get baptized next week.

Also on Friday we finally got to see our friend S........ who went back to china for a month! It was so fun to see her again, and she brought us some Chinese treats it was awesome! We helped correct her grammar for her uni essays and next week we are going to start teaching her again! So excited! We took a pic with S......!

          


Then finally Easter Sunday! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and got lots of chocolate because we did, haha we got loads!! But it was awesome we had some amazing talks, one was a 15 yr old girl who joined the church because she saw a Mormon quote on instagram. Such a cool story! 

But of course we had Transfers Sunday night and the results are:

Elder Ferrell: stay in York and train a new Zone leader elder Glenn.
Elder Hanks: I'm moving to Billingham to be a Zone leader with elder Iakopo, from Australia !! So it should be exciting!

Have a great week everyone!